Doreen Moore
(née Ballard), who was born in Badsey in 1922, and still lives in the
village, has passed on these old recipes for curing minor illnesses (some more
successful than others!). In the days before the National Health Service, villagers
were adept at dealing with these common-place complaints. Here, in her own words,
are the cures that Doreen remembers from her childhood:

Earache

My earliest
memory is of my mother relating the story of Gran Ballardís cure for Dadís earache
when he was a small child. Apparently, she boiled a potato, cut off a small
portion and, while still hot, dropped some into the offending ear. Years later,
when up for an army medical, he was told he had perforated eardrums. I always
imagined him walking around with two colanders attached to his head!

Chilblains

Next comes
a cure for chilblains which I can say with utter confidence, worked wonders.
Take a raw onion, cut it in half and then rub vigorosly on to the tortured toe
and then sit back till the throbbing abates Ė utter bliss! The fact that friends
forsake you immediately after treatment has to be bravely borne. Onions donít
smell for long.

Common
Cold

The next cure is one
of many for the common cold. We used to be given blackcurrant tea at a first
sniff or cough. It was made by pouring boiling water on to the fruit jam Ė
I hate blackcurrants to this day Ė ugh!

The second way was to
smother the chest with a mixture of camphorated oil and mustard, then turn
the patient over and slap more on the back. This torture was added to by tying
a smelly sock around the throat. I think the shock of some of these remedies
helped the cure.

Cider was also useful
as a medicine to cure a cold and it was invaluable to give "central heating"
to a frozen body! Take a small saucepan to the shed, place under tap in cider
barrel, take as much as required. Place same on gas stove, heat up, add sugar
and a teaspoon of ginger. Drink up, then sit back and wait. Either the cold
was cured or, in a bemused way, it became quite acceptable.

Another cough cure was
the application of goose grease. The goose population must have diminished
when a Ďflu epidemic hit the country!

Another sore throat "help"
was some filthy black ointment called Iodee smeared all over the neck
making the unfortunate patient look like a Kentucky minstrel.

Eyes

Any sore
eyes, by the way, were always bathed with cold tea and a stye on the eye-lid
had to be rubbed with a gold wedding ring for some obscure reason.

Warts

I canít
even begin on wart cures except to mention that a certain weed that produced
a milky substance which was rubbed on to the said wart seemed to work. I had
three massive warts on the back of my hand which a spiritualist friend attempted
to cure by passing her hands over the warts and appear to fling them away over
her shoulder. As I had my usual hysterics, she refused future treatment for
which I was thankful, and maybe anyone standing behind her at the time. Imagine
being bombarded with someoneís second-hand warts!

Prevention

As prevention
was better then cure, my mother lined us up every morning before school for
a spoonful of Virol which was rather good as it was like a thick malty
toffee. My health improved more some days than others depending where the jar
was kept. To counteract the nice things, we were also given a spoonful of Syrup
of Figs "to clean our bodies", she said. I thought cleaning the outside
with soap and water would have been enough. Another "tonic" given
when the cheeks lost their lush was Parishís Chemical Food containing
lots of iron according to the label. When my young sister was born, I became
quite addicted to babyís Gripe Water. Any signs of her wind would
enable me a quick nip!

Toothache

Toothache
was treated by rubbing the aching gums with neat whisky and swishing some around
in the mouth. I did think Dad suffered more than some with this affliction,
and he always forgot to spit it out after the swishing!

Headache

Headaches
were not helped by Anadins when I was a child. The pain was relieved
by a large handkerchief being wrung out in vinegar and placed across the brow.
Whether the cold compress or the smell was effective I donít know, but something
helped. Could be faith healing, I suppose. Talking of applied compresses, I
remember many a hot bread poultice slapped on to many a boil and the agony of
waiting for the boil to come up to a head. It wouldnít have dared not to, I
can tell you.

Piles

Dad suffered
badly from piles for years, but flatly refused to see a doctor. Along came a
gypsy one day and, hearing of Dadís affliction, went away and came back later
with a bottle of the most foul green stinking concoction I have ever seen. "One
spoonful a day, Gov," says he, "and your piles will shrink and be
gone in weeks." Guess what? They were never any bother to Dad afterwards,
in spite of the fact his eyes watered every morning on taking the cure, and
he suffered morning sickness to boot! The pile medication was made from stinging
nettles mainly Ė the mind boggles as to the other ingredients.

Rheumatics

Dadís cure
for rheumatics was to carry a nutmeg in his pocket and his recipe for long life
a raw onion a day.

Baldness

Another
gypsy cure I recall was a method to encourage regrowth of hair where the head
resembled an egg. My Dad actually gave it a got, but as I remember, only had
about two hairs over the top of his head and, through this, constantly wore
a flat cap. The method of growing hair was as follows. One found a large piece
of pig skin or "rind", turned the bristle side inward toward the scalp
and then, putting on as much pressure as possible, one rubbed vigorously in
a clockwise direction. This should be kept up till the unfortunate person flopped
with sheer exhaustion. Shampoo sales must have increased with this treatment,
or did the fat sink slowly toward the brain?

Cystitis

The most
popular medication I remember was used for bladder complaints, ie cystitis.
My motherís old friend in the USA came home with this absolute cure and to prove
it, was nearly a hundred years young when she died, and had had many years with
kidneys and bladder in full flow as it were. The simple answer came in the form
of a bottle of beer, accompanied by a raw onion and a hunk of cheddar cheese
every night around eight oíclock. Should any healthy pals happen to call,
they were given a chance to copy this cure just in case of failure of said organs.
In my motherís case, the beer was often substituted for a Guinness. Another
help for waterworks was to drink the water after boiling asparagus. The cure
in this case was worse than the complaint.

Arthritis

My Uncle
Bill had a cure for helping sufferers from arthritis. He used to put three drops
of Juniper Oil on to a sugar cube and let it all dissolve in his mouth.
He also lived till ninety plus, so at least it didnít kill him off.

Looking
Back

When I think
of all these aids to illnesses, Iím not surprised the population remained healthy
so long. I imagine the local doctors must have had quite hard work to scrape
a living around Badsey. Maybe it should have been called Badsey Spa or become
a Pilgrimage Centre with all these miraculous cures going on. However, I think
some of these methods probably are not as absurd as it first appears. Some,
I feel, contain basic good sense. A gypsy once said to me, "On this earth
God put a cure for all illnesses, you just have to know where to look."
Makes you think!